Page 60 of Until Nalia

“See you then, baby.” I hang up after she says goodbye and look over at Coop. “Nalia and Zuri are coming over, so after breakfast we’ll go get the stuff for the project.”

“Thank god.” He falls onto one of the stools at the counter, looking relieved. Obviously, having more faith in them than he does in me in making sure that his project gets done.

“How did you forget that this assignment is due?”

“I just spaced it until Zuri and I called Heather to see if she could play on ROBLOX with us, and she told us she couldn’t because she was working on her volcano for science.”

“You guys didn’t get a printout for it or have to put it in your planner?”

“I wrote it down in my planner, but that was like two weeks ago.”

“You need to make sure you’re double-checking that stuff, bud.”

“I know.” His shoulders slump. “I just forgot.”

“It’s alright, we’ll get it sorted.” I dip my chin towards the doorway. “How about you go up, brush your teeth, get dressed, then let your sister and Cat know that breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Okay.” He heads out of the kitchen, and I hear his footsteps on the stairs. Going to the oven, I pull out the bacon I put in about fifteen minutes ago. A trick my mom taught me growing up, when I’d have all my teammates over and she’d cook for everyone. Making two sheet pans of bacon at a time and using wax paper to cut down on dishes makes the bacon come out crisp and perfect every time without fail. After placing the now crisp bacon on a paper towel, I get another pack of bacon from the fridge so that there will be enough for Nalia and Zuri, and lay it out before I put it in the oven.

When I hear footsteps on the stairs, I assume it’s Coop coming back, but Billie comes around the corner looking half asleep with her hair a mess and a huge sweatshirt hanging to her knees and past her hands.

“Morning.”

“Morning,” she grunts, going to the coffee pot.

Last evening, when Nalia and I got home, Billie, Cat, Coop, Zuri, and Ma were downstairs with what seemed like every blanket they could find in the house. The popcorn machine was in use, there were candy boxes scattered across the coffee table, and the second Gremlin movie was just starting. After listening to the kids all groan about us coming home and not wanting to miss the movie, my mom took off, and Nalia and I found space on the couch and settled in. Thirty minutes into the movie, Nalia fell asleep with her head on my chest, and about fifteen minutes after that, Billie nudged my foot to point out that Zuri, who was on the couch, and Coop, who was on the floor, had both passed out. I didn’t want to wake Nalia, but I got her up so that she could get Zuri home, then I got Coop upstairs to bed while Cat and Billie continued watching the movie. Before I went to bed, I checked in on the girls who were still downstairs, and they were watching some romcom.

“What time did you girls get to bed?”

“Like two.” She comes to stand next to me with a cup of coffee between her hands. “Coop said Nalia and Zuri are coming over for breakfast.”

“They are, then we’re gonna run Zuri and Coop to the hobby store to pick up the shit they need for a project that’s due tomorrow.”

“What’s the project?”

“They have to make a volcano.”

“That should be fun.”

“Do you wanna help out with it?”

“Sure, and Cat loves craft projects, so I’m sure she’d help out too.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I flip over the pancakes on the griddle than look over at her when she says quietly.

“Did you and Nalia have fun last night watching Uncle Hector?”

“We did.” I smile, pulling a stack of pancakes off the griddle.

“She’s really pretty.”

“Who? Nalia?”

“Yeah.”

“She is,” I agree, and she bites her bottom lip.

“Are you two dating now?” The question shouldn’t catch me by surprise, but it does. Maybe it’s because she sounds genuinely curious and not pissed off about it.